A Beerwah ski goes in at Roys Road on Coochin Creek. The licence practical runs on that same Pumicestone Passage, at our Caloundra course.
Ask a Beerwah rider where the ski goes in and you'll get one answer: Roys Road at Coochin Creek, straight onto the Pumicestone Passage. There's nowhere to launch inside Beerwah, so the trailer heads east every time. That makes the licence easy to plan around. You do the theory online at home, then come to our Caloundra course on the Passage for the practical. We bring the jet ski, the lifejacket and the rest of the gear. You get a theory recap and assessment, then a one-on-one session on the ski with your instructor. No boat licence yet? Book the Boat and Jet Ski Combo, because riding a ski takes both classes.
A jet ski is small and light, so new owners often figure the ramp won't matter much. At Roys Road it does. It's a single lane with 15 car parks, owned by the state and run by council. On a busy Saturday that means a short queue and very little room to sort out straps once you're backed down. The good bit is the tide. Maritime Safety Queensland lists Roys Road as not restricted at low tide, and only a few Passage ramps get that tick. You can plan the ride around your morning instead of a tide chart. So for a Beerwah rider the real homework is the road in, the ramp routine and the water past it. The licence course is where you pick up the last of those, on the Passage itself.
Start with the drive, because that's where Beerwah riders slip up first. Queensland Parks sends traffic for Bells Creek Road and Roys Road in from the Bruce Highway at Exit 179. Steve Irwin Way looks like the natural road out of town. It isn't the way in. Work that out on the couch, not with a ski swinging behind the ute.
Partway along you'll pass the Coochin Creek camping area, which sits inside Beerwah State Forest. Keep driving. The ramp is about a kilometre past the camp ground. People who've only heard the name Coochin Creek tend to pull in early and then have to turn a trailer around among the tents.
Once the ski's off the trailer you're on the Pumicestone Passage. Around 80% of it is under two metres deep, and the tide pushes in from both ends, Caloundra to the north and Deception Bay to the south. On a ski that means you keep reading the water in front of you, the whole ride. It's also the reason our Caloundra course trains there. The water you practise on is the water Roys Road puts you on.
Next, pick the right course. A jet ski is a personal watercraft. To ride one on your own you need a recreational marine licence plus a PWC licence. If you already hold a current boat licence, book the jet ski course by itself. If you hold nothing, the Boat and Jet Ski Combo covers both.
Then there's the family ski. Queensland lets an unlicensed person drive a boat or PWC if a licensed supervisor is on board and can take control straight away. That's handy for a first ride. It stops being enough the day someone wants to head out alone, or wants to pull the kids on a tube, because towing a person needs a valid marine licence at the controls.
The course is plain and practical. Theory goes online first, and it has to be done within three months of your practical. On the day there's a theory recap and assessment, then your one-on-one time on our Seadoo. It has braking, reverse and a learner mode, and it's very stable, which makes docking and the figure 8 easier at assessment. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it. You must be at least 16 to hold the licence, and once it's issued it doesn't expire.
The course itself is the same wherever you sit it: the theory online first, in your own time, then a day on the water with a trainer before the assessment. You need a licence for any boat with an engine over 4.5 kilowatts, which is nearly every tinny, runabout and cruiser. Pass, and the Queensland licence never expires. Pick the date that suits you and book online.
It's the main road out of Beerwah, so it feels like the obvious route to any water east of town.
Queensland Parks directs Roys Road and Bells Creek Road traffic in from the Bruce Highway at Exit 179. Turning a ski trailer around on a wrong road eats the best part of your morning.
We name the Exit 179 approach up front, so the first time you tow to Roys Road you already know the way in.
The Coochin Creek camping area carries the creek's name and you reach it first.
The camp ground is inside Beerwah State Forest and the ramp is about a kilometre further along the road. A trailer and a campground full of tents don't mix well.
We keep the two places apart on this page, so you drive past the camp ground and on to the ramp.
A ski is quick to launch, so riders leave the prep until they're already on the ramp.
Roys Road has one lane and 15 car parks. Every minute you spend on the ramp is a minute the next rider waits.
ABC Boating's ramp guide says to walk an unfamiliar ramp before you use it and to keep a line on the bow so the craft can't drift off when it floats. We talk through that routine on course day.
The Passage runs all the way to the coast at Caloundra, so it looks like big water from the ramp.
About 80% of it is less than two metres deep, and the tide moves through from both ends. A rider who stops watching the water ahead gets caught out.
The practical runs on the Pumicestone Passage from our Caloundra course, so you learn to read that depth with an instructor beside you.
Riding with a licensed adult on board is allowed, so it's easy to assume the rest is fine too.
The exemption only works while the licensed supervisor is on board and able to take control. Towing someone on a tube or skis needs a valid marine licence at the controls.
Getting a second rider in the house licensed means the ski isn't tied to one person. The Combo suits anyone starting with no licence at all.
Where you train
Caloundra
Churchill Street, Golden Beach QLD 4551
You can check us before you book. The Queensland Government's BoatSafe register lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra under 0427 110 025, the same number you ring us on. Training is delivered by Australian Boating College, a trading name of ABC Licence Training Pty Ltd, which holds RTO 3399. Karen K, a past student, wrote that she "travelled nearly 2 hrs" to do her boat and jet ski licence with our trainer on the strength of a recommendation. In Queensland a marine licence can only come from an approved BoatSafe provider, so that listing is the one that counts. The training organisation behind the courses, Australian Boating College, is current on the national training register. Every approved provider works to the same floor: trainers hold a commercial marine qualification and pass a criminal history check, the training vessel is commercially certified and carries sun protection, and the organisation running it has to carry public liability cover of at least 20 million dollars. Maritime Safety Queensland audits providers and can suspend one that cuts corners.
BoatSafe Approved
Approved by Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver the BoatSafe recreational marine and PWC licence courses.
VerifyNationally Accredited Training
Courses are delivered under the registration of Australian Boating College, RTO #3399, so the training is nationally accredited.
VerifyBacked by ABC Boating
Part of the Australian Boating College network, which delivers boat and PWC licence training across Australia.
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Rated 5 stars on Google by students across the Sunshine Coast. Read the reviews on our Google profile.
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From Beerwah, near Australia Zoo and the Glass House Mountains, it is a run along Steve Irwin Way and Caloundra Road to our Caloundra base on the Passage. Beerwah is a hinterland town among the Glass House Mountains, so the on-water day is held on the sheltered Pumicestone Passage down at Caloundra. We run the jet ski licence there with all equipment provided, so Beerwah locals can get licensed close to home.
Tell us the date that suits you near Beerwah and our team will come back to you, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk it through? Give us a call.
In from the Bruce Highway at Exit 179. Queensland Parks routes Bells Creek Road and Roys Road traffic that way, and it isn't the Steve Irwin Way turn most Beerwah locals expect. Check it on a map before your first trip.
The ramp itself isn't the problem. Maritime Safety Queensland records Roys Road as not low tide restricted, one of only a few Passage ramps with that listing. The water past the ramp is another matter. Most of the Passage is under two metres deep, so keep an eye on depth as you ride.
No. The camping area sits inside Beerwah State Forest, partway along the road. The boat ramp is about a kilometre further on. Drive past the camp sites and keep going.
It'll take a ski trailer fine, but it's small. There's one lane and 15 car parks. Do your prep in the parking area, walk the ramp if it's new to you, and keep a line on the bow while you launch.
Yes. Queensland only lets you operate a boat or personal watercraft that's towing a person if you hold a valid marine licence. The supervisor exemption covers driving with a licensed adult on board. It doesn't cover towing.
Most of it. Sunshine Coast Council puts it at roughly 80% under two metres deep, with tides flushing in from Caloundra and from Deception Bay. That's the water our Caloundra course trains on, so reading depth from a ski is part of the practical.
No. Nothing runs in Beerwah. The practical happens at our Caloundra course, and the Queensland Government's BoatSafe register lists it as Australian Boating College (Caloundra). It trains on the Pumicestone Passage, the same water your ski will reach from Roys Road. You'll get the exact meeting point once you book, and the theory is done online before you travel.
Yes. A jet ski is a personal watercraft, so you need a PWC licence to ride one legally in Queensland. You must already hold a current recreational boat licence to sit the jet ski course on its own. If you do not have one yet, our Boat and Jet Ski Combo covers both in a single day.
One day on the water. You complete the online theory beforehand, then spend a hands-on day on sheltered Sunshine Coast water at Caloundra, Maroochydore or Noosa. You sit the assessment the same day, and once you pass you leave with the BoatSafe certificate you need to apply for a Queensland licence. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we would rather you took it.
What a personal watercraft licence covers in Queensland, how it differs from a boat licence, the age rules, and how to get your jet ski licence in a day on the Sunshine Coast.
A simple checklist for your boat or jet ski licence course day on the Sunshine Coast: ID, what to wear, sun protection, and what we provide so you can just turn up and learn.
Pick a Caloundra date, get the online theory done at home, and your first launch at Roys Road won't feel like a test. Book online or call 0427 110 025 and we'll help you choose between the jet ski course and the Combo.
